Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1887-06-24
shonld Mo stnnd in tLo plnco of I.lfo. y

| piecoifG Suot 10 wv h'oe AoJ VI eho tsshil
sun shot like golden arrow athwart thi
studied desolation We gained the further gat
way Of the outer wall, and having given on
moro glance at the boar and pillarcd ma1est.
/ through which we had passed, and with Ga
exception Of Job, for whom ruins had II
charms) breathed a sigh of regret that we ha
not had moro time TO explore 1t, passo'
through the great mont, and on to tho plan
beyond. ~ 49,,
As tho sun rose so did Ayesha's spirits, till b,
breakfast time they had gained their norma
i level, and sho laughingly set down her pre-
vious depression to tho associations OF the spo
where she had slept
"Tbese barbaiians declare that Kor ]
haunted she said, 'and of a truth do be
lieve their saying, for never did know so III I
night, save one. I remember it now l
was on that very spot when thou didst Ii
dead at my feet, KallilSrnteS Neveriwill
visit II ngnin; it is place of evil omen"
After very brief halt for breakfast W.
pressed on with such good will that by
o'clock in the afternoon we were at tho foot
Of tho vast wall Of rock that formed the lii
of the volcano, and which at this point tow
cred up precipitously above us for 800 OF
my establishment, for / did not see how II
was possible that we should go any further.
"Now," said Ayesha, as she descended from
her litter, H,loth our labor but commence, fol
here do we part with these mon, md hence
forward wo must bear ourselves;" and then
addressing Billali, do thou and these slaves
remain here, and abide our coming. BY to-
morrow at the midday we shall be with thee;
| IL not, wait"
Billali bowed humbly, and said that her
august bidding should DO obeyed IL they
stopped there till they grew old. .4
aAnd this man, o Holly!n said She. point
ing 10 Job; "bcst Is 1t that he should larry
also, for II his heart be not high and his cour-
ago great, pcrchance some evil might over
take him. Also, tho secrets OF the place
whittier We 60 arc not fit for common eyes. "
translated this to Job, who instantly and
earnestly entreated me, almost with tears In
his eyes, not to leave him behind. He said
that he was sure that he could SEQ nothing
worse than he had already seen, and that no
was terrified to death at the idea OF being left
alone with those "dumb folk" who, he
thought, would probably take the opportu-
nifty to hot pot him.
] translated what he said TO Ayesha, who
shrugged her shoulders, and answered, "Well,
let him come, It Is naught to mel on his own
head be it, and he viii serve TO bear the lamp
and this and she pointed to anarrow plank,
some sixteen feet long, which had been Inbound
nbove tho long bearing pole of her hammock,
as | had thought, to make the curtains spread
out better, but, as it now appeared, for somo
unknown purpose connected with cur ex-
traordlnary undertaking.
Accordingly tho plank, which, though.
tough, was very light, was given TO Job to
carry, and also one of the lamps I slung the
other on to my back, together with spare
Jar Of oil, while Leo loaded himself with tho
provisions and some water in kids skin.
When this was done She made Billali and tho
six bearer mutes to retreat behind a grove Of
Towering mngnolias about 100 yards away
and remain there under the pain OF death Till
we had vanished They bowed humbly and
went, and, as we departed, old Billaligayo
me friendly shake OF the hand aud wills
pered that he had rather that ii WINS than he
who was going on this wonderful expedition
with c-who-must-bc-obeyed,' and upon
my word / felt inclined to agreo with him.
In another minute they were gone, and then,
having briefly asked us il we were ready,
Ayosha turned and gazcd up the towering
cliff.
aGoodness me, Ieo,"I said, surely we are
not going to climb thatp
Leo shrugged his shoulders, being in con-
dition OF half fascinated, half expectant mys-
tification, and, ns he did so, Aycshn with
sudden movo began to climb the cliff, and Of
course we had to follow her. 1t was perfectly
marvellous to soc the ease and grace with
which she sprung from rock TO rock and
swung herself along the lodges. The ascent
was not, however, so difficult as 1t looked, Ill
though there wero ono or two nasty places
where It did not do to look behind you, tho
fact being that the rock still sloped here md
was not absolutely precipitous os II was
higher up. In this way we, with no great
labor, mounted TO q height OF some fifty feet
above our last standing place, the only really
troublesome thing to manage being Jobs
board, and In doing so drew somo fifty or
sixty PAGES TO the left of our starting point,
for we went up like O crab, sideways.
Presently we reached ledge, narrow enough
at first, but which widoned as We followed
It, and, what Is more, sloped inward
like the petal of flower, so that as wo
followed It we gradually got into kind Of
rut or fold OF rock that grew deeper md
deeper, till at last it resembled Devonshlrc
lane in stone, and hid us perfectly from the
gazc of anybody on the slope below, IL there
had been anybody TO gaze. This lano (which
appeared to be natural formation continued
for some fifty or sixty PAGES, then suddenly
ended In cave, also natural, running at
right angles to It. l am suro that II was
a natural cave, and not followed by the hand
OF man, because Of its irregular and contorted
shape and course, which gave 1t the appear
ance Of having been blown bodily In the
mountain by some frightful eruption OF gas
following the line Of the least resistance All
the caves followed by the accidents Of Kor.
on tho contrary, wero cut out with the most
perfect regularity and symmetry. At the
mouth Of this cave Ayesha halted, and bade
us light the two lamps, which did, giving
ono to her and keeping the other my
self. Then, taking the lead, she advanced
down the cavern, picking her way with great
care, as indeed, 1t was necessary to do. for the
floor was most irregular--strewn with bowl
deis like the bed Of stream, and In some
places pitted with deep holes, in which, II
would have been easy to break ones leg.
a This cavern we pursued for twenty min
utes or more, it being, SO far us could form
n judgment--owing to its numerous twists
and turns, no easy task-about quarter of
milo long. litl
At last, however, we halted at its further
end, and whilst ! was still trying TO pierce
the gloom great gust of air came tearing
down 1t, aud extinguished both the lamps.
Ayesha called to us, and we crcpt up to
her, for she was a little in front, and wero
rewarded with a view that was positively
appalling in it's gloom AVID grandeur.
"Here must We pass" said Ayesha. "Be
careful lest giddiness overcome We, or the
wind sweep ye into the gulf beneath, for Of
truth 1t hath no bOttom;p md, without giving
us any further time to get scared, she started
walking along the spur, leaving us to follow
her as best wo might -'as next to her, then
camo Job, painfully drag ying his plank, while
Leo brought up the rear. 1t WASH wonderful
sight to SEQ this intrepid woman gliding fcar-
lessly along that dread' ul place For my
part, when / had goneb very few yards,
what between the pressure OF the air and tho
awful sense of the consequences that slip
would entail, found it necessary to go down
On my hands and knees and crawl, and 50 did
the other two.